Lindsey Vonn in position to win gold in women's combined

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — The women’s combined event represents a literal generational handoff for the United States, a moment when skiing’s present includes one of the most notable figures of its past, in Lindsey Vonn, and one of its brightest future stars, in Mikaela Shiffrin.

The two-part event, held over a tight four-hour timeframe at Jeongseon Resort, puts Vonn and her best event — downhill — against Shiffrin’s expertise in slalom. While neither skier has torn up these Games in their preferred events — Vonn got a bronze in downhill, while Shiffrin placed just off the podium in slalom — both have one final opportunity to leave PyeongChang with more hardware.

The downhill portion of the combined event featured 32 skiers. Vonn took off 13th, and posted a time of 1:39.37, good enough for first place.

Shiffrin followed in the 19th slot, and finished her run with a time of 1:41.35. That was good enough to put her in sixth place.

The event resumes later Thursday afternoon Korean time with the slalom portion.